More than 1,000 yachts berth at the Sanya yacht industrial core area of the Hainan Free Trade Port. [Photo by Ye Longbin/For China Daily]

In 2024, Hainan's GDP reached 793.57 billion yuan ($109.53 billion), up 3.7 percent year-on-year, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality. The total output of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries in the province grew by 2.4 percent, with steady increases in the production of vegetables, fruits, rubber, and aquatic products.

The industrial added value of enterprises above the designated size in Hainan rose by 7.4 percent while manufacturing industry increased by 9.6 percent, becoming the main drivers of industrial growth. The added value of the service sector grew by 3.6 percent, with transportation, warehousing, and postal services surging 17.4 percent, and operating revenue of enterprises above designated size in the service sector increasing by 8 percent. China's industrial enterprises above designated size refer to the enterprises with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan.

In 2024, Hainan's total imports and exports grew by 20 percent year-on-year, far surpassing the national average growth rate. Exports jumped 43.5 percent, while imports rose by 8.9 percent, highlighting Hainan's increasing significance in the global trade landscape.

Since the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the quantity of newly established market entities in Hainan has exceeded the cumulative total of the previous three decades. In the past seven years, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises has seen an average annual growth rate of 57 percent, with the actual utilization of foreign capital increasing by an average of 36 percent annually.

By the end of 2024, Hainan was home to 9,979 foreign-invested enterprises, with 77.3 percent of them established after June 2020. The count of countries and regions investing in the province grew from 43 in 2018 to the current figure of 174.

In 2024, the number of foreign-invested enterprises in Hainan increased by 19.2 percent year-on-year. The province secured the 7th position nationally in outbound investment and ranked 10th in the actual utilization of foreign capital. By the same year, a total of 104 multinational corporations had established regional headquarters in Hainan, with 77 Fortune Global 500 companies making their mark on the island province.

The Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access to Hainan Free Trade Port (Negative List) contains only 27 items, the shortest across the country.

Hainan has aligned its business environment evaluation system with the World Bank's Business Ready (B-READY) framework and related national standards in China, creating a Free Trade Port-specific evaluation mechanism. Assessments show that in criteria such as electricity access costs and business startup efficiency, Hainan has reached a leading position in China and even globally.

Hainan is seeking high-quality economic development by building a distinctive "4+3+3" modern industrial system.

The "4" refers to vigorously developing tourism, modern services, high-tech industries, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture.

The first "3" targets future industries: seed breeding (Nanfan), deep-sea technology, and commercial aerospace.

The second "3" focuses on promoting consumption in luxury shopping, healthcare, and education.

In 2024, Hainan's four pillar industries of tourism, modern services, high-tech, and tropical high-efficiency agriculture accounted for 67 percent of its GDP, an increase of 14 percentage points from 2018, becoming the backbone of the province's economic growth.

Hainan's trade with other RCEP member countries reached 102.98 billion yuan in 2024, surpassing the 100-billion yuan mark for the first time. This marks a 79.5 percent increase from 57.36 billion yuan in 2021, establishing RCEP partners as Hainan's top trading bloc.

In 2024, Hainan's imports and exports with other RCEP member countries accounted for 37.1 percent of the province's total, up 28.2 percent year-on-year. Trade with ASEAN alone hit 57.91 billion yuan, up 62.3 percent year-on-year, contributing 9.6 percentage points to Hainan's overall trade growth. ASEAN has remained Hainan's largest trading partner for six consecutive years.

Hainan's cross-border receipts and payments reached $108.63 billion in 2024, surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time and placing the province in the mid-to-upper tier nationally. This reflects more dynamic two-way capital flows and greater facilitation of cross-border trade, investment and financing in the FTP.

Over the past seven years, Hainan's offshore duty-free shopping policy has driven cumulative sales to 217.69 billion yuan, up 338.7 percent year-on-year. During the same period, Hainan imported 222.44 billion yuan worth of consumer goods, representing a yearly uptick of 647.7 percent, contributing 2.6 percentage points to national consumer goods import growth.

Hainan has become China's 9th largest consumer goods importer. In 2024, Hainan ranked first in China in terms of the overall potential for scientific and technological innovation.

In 2024, Hainan's three airports, namely Haikou Meilan International Airport, Sanya Phoenix International Airport, and Qionghai Boao International Airport, resumed and launched 77 international passenger and cargo routes, including 7 fifth-freedom routes. The passenger route network now connects 34 cities across 20 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Sources: hi.people.com.cn, dost.hainan.gov.cn, news.hndaily.cn and chinadaily.com.cn